Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik meet say no alliance talks

“Ours is a known friendship, and we were colleagues many years ago. No discussion was held on any alliances today,” Patnaik said after the meeting.

Updated on: May 10, 2023, 04:33:37 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday called on his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik, with both leaders calling it a courtesy meet while declining any talks on opposition unity.

Janata Dal (United) leader Kumar, who leads a seven-party coalition government in Bihar, has been meeting leaders from various opposition parties in a bid to forge a “united opposition” alliance to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Also read: On Odisha CM's 'pleasant stay' tweet for Nitish, BJP's jibe: ‘seems on holiday’

“Ours is a known friendship, and we were colleagues many years ago. No discussion was held on any alliances today,” Patnaik said after the meeting in state capital.

Kumar said, “My relation with his (Patnaik’s) father Biju Babu and Naveen ji is very old. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we could not meet. No political discussions were held. We have good relations and there is no need to discuss any politics.”

In the last few months, the JD(U) leader has held a series of meetings in a bid to bring together opposition and regional parties on a common platform. Recently, Kumar met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Bannerjee.

Later this week, Kumar is expected to meet National Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai. He is also likely to meet Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren.

Patnaik shared photos of his meeting with Kumar on Twitter, saying: “Glad to meet Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar in Bhubaneswar. Odisha shares a special bond with Bihar and the people of the neighbouring state. Hope he had a pleasant and fruitful stay in Odisha.”

The Odisha chief minister said the state government will provide 1.5 acre of land in Puri to the Bihar government “free of cost” for building facilities for tourists who visit the coastal city to offer prayers to Lord Jagannath.

In March, Mamata Banerjee called on Patnaik during her three-day Odisha visit. While Banerjee had called the meeting a “courtesy call”, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader said there was no “political discussion” during the meeting.

Also read: Pawar back on the field, to meet Nitish on opposition unity

The Odisha chief minister is too cautious to join any political bandwagon, especially when the general and assembly elections are just a year away, BJD leaders said. “He has always played safe in the past. Besides, he has no interest in national politics and is happy being the CM of Odisha,” a BJD lawmaker said, declining to be named. “The politics of equidistance has always served him well. There is no reason why would he discard it now.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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